[To face p. 124.
In one hymn especially devoted to the legend of the Soma-bearing eagle (or hawk), allusion to the small but well-marked-out constellation Sagitta (the arrow) may be detected. In Wilson’s translation of Maṇḍala IV. 27 (vol. iii. p. 174), we read: “When the hawk screamed (with exultation) on his descent from heaven, and (the guardians of the Soma) perceived that the Soma was (carried away) by it, then, the archer Kriṣánu, pursuing with the speed of thought, and stringing his bow, let fly an arrow against it.”
Now to turn to another important Vedic deity, Agni.
Agni is classed, according to Macdonell, amongst terrestrial gods, but he points out that in some passages he is to be identified with the sun. Wilson describes Agni as comprising[63] “the element of Fire under three aspects: 1st, as it exists on earth, not only as culinary or religious fire, but as the heat of digestion and of life, and the vivifying principle of vegetation; 2nd, as it exists in the atmosphere, or mid-heaven, in the form of lightning; and 3rd, as it is manifested in the heavens, as light, the sun, the dawn, and planetary bodies.” And—having enumerated various deities who in the hymns appear as manifestations of the sun—he adds, “still, however, the sun does not hold that prominent place in the Vaidik liturgy which he seems to have done in that of the ancient Persians, and he is chiefly venerated as the celestial representative of Fire.”
[63] Wilson, Rig Veda, Introduction, vol. i. pp. xxvii.-xxviii.
The classification of Agni as a terrestrial god, given by Macdonell, and the order of his “aspects,” as given by Wilson, are not in accordance with the theory here advocated, nor, according to Macdonell, is it the classification or order always adhered to by Vedic authorities.
For some very puzzling myths concerning Agni, I believe an astronomic interpretation may be given, and thereby the position of Agni in the first place, rather than in the last, as a celestial god, may be established.
The Vedic deity Apām Napāt—the son of Waters, is classed by Macdonell as an atmospheric god, and he says,[64] “In the last stanza of the Apām napāt hymn, the deity is invoked as Agni, and must be identified with him,” and again,[65] “Agni’s origin in the aerial waters is often referred to. The ‘son of waters’ has, as has been shown, become a distinct deity.” Then turning to other legends regarding Agni he says, “In such passages the lightning form of Agni must be meant. Some of the later hymns of the Rig Veda tell a legend of Agni hiding in the waters and plants, and being found by the gods.... In one passage of the Rig Veda also it is stated that Agni rests in all streams; and in the later ritual texts, Agni in the waters is invoked in connexion with ponds and water-vessels. Thus, even in the oldest Vedic period, the waters in which Agni is latent, though not those from which he is produced, may in various passages have been regarded as terrestrial.... In any case the notion of Agni in the waters is prominent throughout the Vedas.”
[64] Vedic Mythology, p. 70.
[65] Ibid., p. 92.